Illinois and Chicago area Real Estate Happenings

Chicago Area Real Estate Happenings ~ Interactive Chicago map of Homes for sale for $100,000 to $150,000 FORCLOSURES!

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:10:15 -0600

Here is another interactive map of homes for sale in the Chicago
area priced at $100,000 to $150,000. All these homes on this map
are in foreclosure and there are great deals out there. If you are
looking for a GREAT deal on a home, let Rice Property Management and
Realty help you all the way from beginning to end.

If you are wanting to invest in property and are not afraid
of putting in some seat equity, there are homes out there
that will yield large profits upon selling, after renovation.

We also have a pool of investors that we can market your home
to after you are done with fixing it up inside. OR maybe you want
to just hold onto the home after you have renovated it. We can find
good tenants for your home.

Give us a call or e-mail us... we will be happy to help you.

View Larger Map

Here are the other links in my series of my other interactive maps
of Chicago homes for sale. Just click on the price range you are
interested in.

~~~ Interactive Chicago map of homes for sale 150,000 to 200,000 !

~~~ Interactive Chicago map of homes for sale 100,000 to 150,000 !

~~~ Interactive Chicago map of homes for sale 50,000 to 100,000 !

~~~ Interactive Chicago map of homes for sale 50,000 or less!!

~ Interactive Chicago map of Homes for sale for less than $50,000 FORECLOSURES!

~ Interactive Chicago map of Homes for sale for $50,000 to $100,000 FORCLOSURES!

Alexander Harb PSEM®, E-Agent®
Rice Property Management and Realty L.L.C.

Just click on any of these links
to find the type of help you need.

Buying, selling or just searching,
Rice Property Management and Realty
has what you are looking for!

Chicago Area Real Estate Happenings ~ Interactive Chicago map of Homes for sale for $50,000 to $100,000 FORCLOSURES!

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 13:11:05 -0600

Here is interactive map number 6 of homes for sale in
the Chicago area.

This map is for homes priced between $50,000 and $100,000.

Every single one of the homes in this map are in foreclosure.
You can get a GREAT deal and help someone get out from
under a great financial burden.

If you are an investor and you are looking for a steal of a deal,
this map will help you see what is out there.

Come and see us at Rice Property Management and Realty for
all your real estate needs.

Renting
Investing
Residential
Commercial
Vacant land

When you are looking for more information on any of these
properties, just e-mail us or call us.

View Larger Map

Here are the other links in my series of my other interactive maps
of Chicago homes for sale. Just click on the price range you are
interested in.

~~~ Interactive Chicago map of homes for sale 150,000 to 200,000 !

~~~ Interactive Chicago map of homes for sale 100,000 to 150,000 !

~~~ Interactive Chicago map of homes for sale 50,000 to 100,000 !

~~~ Interactive Chicago map of homes for sale 50,000 or less!!

~ Interactive Chicago map of Homes for sale for less than $50,000 FORECLOSURES!

Alexander Harb PSEM®, E-Agent®
Rice Property Management and Realty L.L.C.

Just click on any of these links
to find the type of help you need.

Buying, selling or just searching,
Rice Property Management and Realty
has what you are looking for!

Chicago Area Real Estate Happenings ~ Interactive Chicago map of Homes for sale for less than $50,000 FORECLOSURES!

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 12:57:54 -0600

Oh my goodness........... this is my 5th map in my series of homes
for sale in the Chicago area.

This interactive map is for homes priced less than $50,000 that
are in foreclosure.

If you are an investor and you are looking for a steal of a deal,
this map will help you see what is out there.

Come and see us at Rice Property Management and Realty for
all your real estate needs.

Renting
Investing
Residential
Commercial
Vacant land

When you are looking for more information on any of these
properties, just e-mail us or call us.

View Larger Map

Here are the other links in my series of my other interactive maps
of Chicago homes for sale. Just click on the price range you are
interested in.

~~~ Interactive Chicago map of homes for sale 150,000 to 200,000 !

~~~ Interactive Chicago map of homes for sale 100,000 to 150,000 !

~~~ Interactive Chicago map of homes for sale 50,000 to 100,000 !

~~~ Interactive Chicago map of homes for sale 50,000 or less!!

Alexander Harb PSEM®, E-Agent®
Rice Property Management and Realty L.L.C.

Just click on any of these links
to find the type of help you need.

Buying, selling or just searching,
Rice Property Management and Realty
has what you are looking for!

Chicago Area Real Estate Happenings ~~~ Interactive map of homes for 150,000 to 200,000 !

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 12:21:34 -0600

This is the fourth map in my series of homes in the Chicago area
for sale. This interactive map will list homes for sale in the range
of $150,000 to $200,000.

Remember, all these homes were selling for almost DOUBLE the
current asking price 3 years ago.

Just think, you could be buying a home for $150,000 that was
worth almost $300,000 3 years ago!!!

The first time buyers credit of $8000 has been extended AND if
you are buying a home that is a MOVE up home, the credit will be
$6,500 dollars.

If you sold your home recently and want more space or need
another bedroom, this "move up" credit is what you are looking
for.

View Larger Map

Here are the other links in my series of my other interactive maps
of Chicago homes for sale. Just click on the price range you are
interested in.

~~~ Interactive map of homes for 100,000 to 150,000 !

~~~ Interactive map of homes for 50,000 to 100,000 !

~~~ Interactive map of homes for 50,000 or less!!

Thanks to: squash360
and www.flickr.com for the great
picture of downtown Chicago.

Alexander Harb PSEM®, E-Agent®
Rice Property Management and Realty L.L.C.

Just click on any of these links
to find the type of help you need.

Buying, selling or just searching,
Rice Property Management and Realty
has what you are looking for!

Chicago Area Real Estate Happenings ~~~ Interactive map of homes for 100,000 to 150,000 !

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 17:07:19 -0600

Since I made the first two maps in this series, I figured I would
make another interactive map of homes for sale in the Chicago
area in the $100,000 to $150,000 range.

Tomorrow I willl be posting another set of maps for your information.

We invite all owners, tenants, potential renters, buyers, sellers,
and investors of South Suburban Chicago, Illinois and
Indiana homes for sale or rent, to search our real estate
website for all your needs.

View Larger Map

Alexander Harb PSEM®, E-Agent®
Rice Property Management and Realty L.L.C.

Just click on any of these links
to find the type of help you need.

Buying, selling or just searching,
Rice Property Management and Realty
has what you are looking for!

Chicago Area Real Estate Happenings ~~~ Interactive map of homes for 50,000 to 100,000 !

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:55:53 -0600

Well, well, well...... I got so excited about the map I just made for
investment homes being marketed for $50,000 or less, I decided
to do another map of homes for sale in the Chicago area for
$50,000 to $100,000.

If you know how do use google maps, this will make your life easy...

Rice Property Management and Realty stands ready to help you
with ALL your real estate needs:

Renting
Investing
Residential
Commercial
Vacant land

View Larger Map

Alexander Harb PSEM®, E-Agent®
Rice Property Management and Realty L.L.C.

Just click on any of these links
to find the type of help you need.

Buying, selling or just searching,
Rice Property Management and Realty
has what you are looking for!

Chicago Area Real Estate Happenings ~~~ Interactive map of homes for 50,000 or less!!

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:39:12 -0600

Hello there!! Do you want an interactive map of homes
marketed in the Chicago area around the 60411 area code
for $50,000 or less?

Do I have a great map for YOU!!

I will be posting MORE maps like this in the future in different
areas of Chicago and in different price ranges, so stay tuned!!

For those of you looking to purchase an investment home for
$50,000 or less in the Chicago area, here is THEE map you have
been waiting for...

View Larger Map

Alexander Harb PSEM®, E-Agent®
Rice Property Management and Realty L.L.C.

Just click on any of these links
to find the type of help you need.

Buying, selling or just searching,
Rice Property Management and Realty
has what you are looking for!

Chicago Area Real Estate Happenings ~~~ Do you need information on our local service area?

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:12:54 -0600

Here it is..... the current Rice Property Management
and Realty service area!

There will be added communities soon!

If you want more information on ANY of the communities
in this map, just click on the blue peg and you will find MORE!!

It took a while to get these all included on this map, but
HERE THEY ARE!!

(I LOVE GOOGLE!!)

Stay tuned for MORE stuff from me......

View Rice Property Management and Realty Service area in a larger map

Alexander Harb PSEM®, E-Agent®
Rice Property Management and Realty L.L.C.

Just click on any of these links
to find the type of help you need.

Buying, selling or just searching,
Rice Property Management and Realty
has what you are looking for!

Chicago Area Real Estate Happenings ~~~ What is going on in Chicago right now?

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 15:20:31 -0600

"Tis the season" so they say............ and I am going to
post some FUN Christmas things to do that are happening in
the Chicago area.

First of all, who would not want to visit Santa Claus if you had little
ones in tow...

Here are the top 3 places to see him for FREE in Chicago!!

Downtown Chicago - Daley Plaza Santa
This is the number ONE choice if you love the great outdoors and yearn
to be in the heart of the city. You can tack on a Christkindlmarket visit or
have fun Ice Skating at Millennium Park.

Navy Pier - Navy Pier Santa
This is the number ONE choice if you want to be indoors. You can add
on a trip to the Winter Wonderfest while yer at it too....hehehehe

Lincoln Park Zoo - Lincoln Park Zoo Santa
This is the number ONE choice if you'd like a combination of being indoors
and having fun outdoors also. You can enjoy Zoolights while you're there,
too.

I thought I would find just SOME things going on in the Chicago area, BUT there were
TOO MANY to choose from!

For a WHOLE BUNCH of information on the HUNDREDS of Chicago Christmas
celebrations going on this December, you can click on THIS LINK to see them all.

(I have a LOT of adjusting to do, coming from Orlando, FL.)

Thanks to: boofrumom2 , wallyg
and www.flickr.com for the GREAT pictures!!

Alexander Harb PSEM®, E-Agent®
Rice Property Management and Realty L.L.C.

Just click on any of these links
to find the type of help you need.

Buying, selling or just searching,
Rice Property Management and Realty
has what you are looking for!

Chicago Area Real Estate Happenings ~~~ Are YOU looking for investment property that won't break your bank?

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 10:16:51 -0600

Hello there... here is the next installment of homes for
sale priced at $50,000.00 or less in the Southern
Chicago, IL. real estate area.

If you click on the link above, there should be up to
60 properties now in that list.

The low asking price for these awesome investment
properties is $14,999.00.

The high asking price for one of these gems in the
rough is $34,900.00.

Now, if you are thinking of becoming an investment
property owner and you need a top notch Property
Management company to take care of things for you,
Rice Property Management and Realty is just the
organization to help you.

We will do everything for you and make everything
run just as smooth as glass...

The RPM Plan

The RPM Marketing Plan is designed to service all phases of your Real Estate needs from the beginning renter to the seasoned savvy investor. To accomplish this goal in a successful manner, we have been blessed to secure a like-minded team of service professionals that have YOUR best interests at heart. Having first hand “rent-to-ownership” experience, Diane Rice, Broker/Owner has developed a passionate understanding of the process and has acquired the necessary training to implement plans to anyone possessing a desire to excel in and upon the land. We encourage your calls to make appointments to begin your journey whether you seek rentals, homeownership, buying, selling, investment, management, placement, or referrals!

Rental Finding Services: Registering with Rice Property Management grants potential tenants multiple beneficial advantages to aid in secure desired housing:

· Rent To Ownership Programs – Preparation For Buying (credit-challenged assistance)

· Personal Licensed REALTOR® Assignment – One-on-one property searching

· One Place Pre-screening – Eliminate excessive credit report inquiries

· MLS Listing access – broad neighborhood choices

· House & Apartment Previews &Tours – (See before you go)

· In-house Rentals (for the credit challenged) Professional negotiations on your behalf

· No Security Deposit Requirement

· Pre-qualify online

Realtor Services For Buyers & Sellers: Rice Property Management & Realty has REALTOR® Brokers & Agents poised to give you personal and satisfying full-service buying and/or selling experience. We aim to achieve this by matching our trained team members to your specific requirements. Our Specialties include:

· Home Staging Experts - Utilize our certified stagers to market your home!

· Buyer Agents - Receive one-on-one care while seeking your dream home!

· Mortgage Professionals - Use Our Resource Referral Network to get help with pre-approvals, refinancing, FHA & VA Loans, current credits, programs, plans, & Incentives.

· Seller/Buyer Prep – Available tools: warranties, inspections, disclosures, marketing, website promotions, open houses, etc.

· Seller Benefits – Select from our on-hand approved purchasing investor base

· Expert Attorney Referral - pre-foreclosure & short sale professionals to assist you in keeping your home

Property Placement Services: Exclusive Owner Packages for investors and owners who self manage. Forgo weekly and monthly advertising fees and gain exposure to your property through major top search website engines. Receive:

· Licensed REALTOR® Assistance – professional help to rent your property

· Property Marketing - choose from huge established tenant marketing base

· Investor Services – Help with leasing, listing and selling your commercial & residential property

· Referral Services – In-house established resources

· No-upfront costs ever – SAVE your advertising dollars – FREE Virtual Tours – Worldwide Placement

· Property Prep Service – R&R Painting & Carpeting Cleaning

· Online FREE property monitoring service

· Investor watch – receive current preferred investor selections

Management Services: Full-service Commercial & Residential Management in the South Suburban Chicagoland Illinois & Northwest Indiana Communities. Management includes:

· Applicant Screening & Service For All Tenant Concerns

· Online tenant record reviews – NEW (by Fall of 2009)

· Owner access to monitoring property traffic interest

· Move-in & Move-out Service

· Property Prep Service – R&R Painting & Carpeting Cleaning – (in-house rates)

· Rental Collections & Record Keeping – Direct Owner Deposits

· Maintenance Upkeep & Vendor Payments

· Notice & Eviction Service – RPM is a registered Notary (in Illinois only)

· Annual & Periodic Property Inspections – (as required by

· Leases & Renewals – Short & long term leases

· Advertising/Marketing – Free Address Domains – Access Marketing Brochures - Website Positioning & Synchronizing

· Required Class Attendance (for municipalities with Crime-Free Housing Certification requirements)

· Buyer/Seller Representation – Exclusive listing

· Monthly & Year-end Statements

· Investor watch – receive current preferred marketing selections

· Vendor Referrals

At a time such as this, Rice Property Management & Realty is growing! If you believe you’d like to become a team contributor, we’d be interested in talking with you. There is always room for additional members to join. Bring your talents or just your resolve and merge with us! Our deep-seated passion is to rebuild cities, creating a community that welcomes people from all walks of life! We are achieving this through servicing one client at a time with quality placement, and by community involvement. Can you assist us in keeping this dream a reality? You qualify if you care about people are driven to make a difference!

Thanks to: www.flickr.com

and rebecca anne for the nice photo !

Alexander Harb PSEM®, E-Agent®
Rice Property Management and Realty L.L.C.

Just click on any of these links
to find the type of help you need.

Buying, selling or just searching,
Rice Property Management and Realty
has what you are looking for!

Christianity and Real Estate ~~~ what our Group is like at Thanksgiving...

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:21:09 -0600

Oh MY GOODNESS! I could not be MORE filled with thanks
than at this very moment. So many of our wonderful members
of "Christianity and Real Estate" have submitted such
wonderful posts about being thankful this year.

It is amazing to read each post...and after reading just two
of them today, I was left breathless with thankfulness.

Our group is filled with real estate professionals that have
Christian values and we are NOT afraid to speak up about
them, or about how AWESOMELY GOOD our God and our
Messiah Jesus is!

This is not a group that just has warm, feel good posts about
being good, or reaching for the stars and doing your best.
This group has people that have real, vital, biblical relationships
with our Creator and His Son, Jesus the Messiah from Nazareth.

We are not a bunch of hypocrites, who say one thing and
then go and do another, nor are we holier than thou about
what we believe. We just love God and Jesus with all our
heart, soul, mind and strength .......and we love our neighbors
as ourselves.

You just HAVE to read these posts I have listed below.....
they are stories that will touch your heart and warm your
soul. As I read each one of them, I was inspired to write this
post, because each post touched my life so much in a fantastic way.

I would LOVE this post to be featured in ActiveRain, just because of the FANTASTIC posts that are in it!!

If YOU think this post should be featured, flag it below...

Here are those AWESOME posts:

In these posts, you will see heartache turned into shear JOY.....
sadness turning into dancing and faith honored by the God who
hears everyone who believes and acts on what they believe.

Thanksgiving...... an un-expected miracle
June Lewis Realtor® Northwood Realty New Castle,Pa Lawrence Co 7247304571

There is so much more going on in these posts, but I will let
YOU see that for yourselves as you read each one.

I hate Cliche - But This is the Feel Good Story of the Year!
Larry Bettag Illinois FHA Specialist

Each post will have you SMILING and you will nod your head
saying, "YES... this is what life is all about...."

His Name Is John Winter. He Was My Client. He Became My Friend.
Mike Jones

Some posts will leave you a little sad, BUT knowing that if you lead a
life like these people, you will leave a LASTING legacy to others.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - Mark 1:9-11 in Hawaii Pidgen, You my boy!
Bob & Bonnie Horning

Some of these posts are FUNNY.... and will make you smile in a
different way.... How VIRALLY MARKETED is the Kingdom
of God anyway?? ;-)

Be The Loving Reflective Mirror People Need In Their Lives
Gary Woltal - Associate Broker REALTOR® Dallas Ft. Worth

Alexander Harb PSEM®, E-Agent®
Rice Property Management and Realty L.L.C.

Just click on any of these links
to find the type of help you need.

Buying, selling or just searching,
Rice Property Management and Realty
has what you are looking for!

Chicago Area Real Estate Happenings ~~~ The Riverdale, IL. Market Report (60827) for 11.18.2009

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:58:09 -0600

View Village of Riverdale in a larger map

Hello there! this is the Chicago, IL. area market report
for the village of Riverdale, IL. (zip code 60827)

Although Riverdale is a relatively small town, don't
be fooled by it's size. This town is based on strong
core values, hard-work, and a intense commitment to
serving the community. These ethics make Riverdale
a fantastic place to live and work.

HOLIDAY TOY AND COAT DRIVE

The Village of Riverdale is accepting donations for Riverdale's Toy and Coat Drive. Help keep another family warm and cozy this year by donating a new or gently used coat to the cause. You can put a smile on a young child's face also, by donating an unwrapped new toy for deserving Riverdale young people. Donations will be accepted up to Friday, December 18th at the Village Hall located at 157 W. 144th St and the Riverdale Community Resource Center located at 13725 S. Wabash. If you need more information, please contact Tanya Watkins at 708/841-2006.

They are also looking for volunteers to join the holiday
planning committee. If you would like to take part in the Village of Riverdale holiday festivities, please contact the Riverdale Community Resource Center at 708/841-7054 or send an email to twatkins@villageofriverdale.org.

This is what the real estate market is doing in the village of Riverdale:

To see homes for sale in the Chicago, IL. area by map, just click on the link.

Detached Single Family Homes

Number of Bedrooms	# Active	Avg. Listing Price	Avg. Market Time
All	86	$78,636	208

2 or Less	33	$56,225	241

3	38	$90,063	179

4	12	$95,492	238

5 or More	3	$113,000	106

Attached Single Family Homes

Number of Bedrooms	# Active	Avg. Listing Price	Avg. Market Time
All	11	$41,228	299

2 or Less	8	$38,713	376

3	1	$59,900	89

4	2	$41,950	95

Every week I will be posting reports on various
suburbs in the various southern Chicago, IL. real estate
market areas Rice Property Management and Realty serves.

Be on the look out for them, they will be informative.

I will also be posting maps on school locations and their
ratings, community affairs and other items of interest to you
for the southern Chicagoland area.

Alexander Harb PSEM®, E-Agent®
Rice Property Management and Realty L.L.C.

Just click on any of these links
to find the type of help you need.

Buying, selling or just searching,
Rice Property Management and Realty
has what you are looking for!

Chicago Area Real Estate Happenings ~~~ South Holland and Calmuet City Market Report 11.16.09

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:46:02 -0600

Hey there everyone!

In keeping with my promise to deliver timely information on
southern Chicago, IL. area homes for sale ~~~

Here is the Calmuet City and South Holland Market Report:

Single Family Homes # Bedrooms	# Active	Avg. List Price	Avg. Market Time (days)
All	485	$127,763	232

2 or Less	50	$77,971	194

3	333	$122,136	238

4	83	$165,802	215

5 or More	19	$191,237	313

Attached Single
Family Homes

Bedrooms	# Active	Avg. List Price	Avg. Market Time (days)
All	52	$94,039	257

2 or Less	42	$79,571	256

3	10	$154,804	261
As you will see in the charts, the average mean time on market for single family homes in these areas was about 240 days, or 2/3rds of a year. The average time on the market for attached single family homes was 258 days, or just over 2/3rds of a year.

I realize this post is just a very boring list and bunch of statistics.

BUT.... if you are READY to buy a home, these numbers can save you
a LOT of time and energy.

Just take a look at the type of home, the price range(s) you want and
the number of bedrooms you would like and give us a call.

We will speak with you about your wants and needs in southern Chicago,
IL. real estate property.

"We purpose to service you from the beginning to the end!"

Beginning every transaction with prayer, we are grateful to have the opportunity to service all who have been given to us. We realize that except the LORD build the house, we labor in vain, and we accept those appointed at this season. We thank you in advance for initiating what could become a fruitful business relationship!

Licensed in the State of Illinois & Indiana, Rice Property Management & Realty, L.L.C., is a Residential and Commercial Property Management Company. We also serve as an Exclusive Brokerage Firm for both sellers and buyers of Chicago area homes for sale. We have Certified Realtors who have completed the necessary training to assist you in securing mortgage assistance for residential loans.

RENTERS:
Rice Property Management has apartments and houses for rent in various locations throughout Chicagoland, Southwestern Indiana and South Suburban Illinois. Most rentals come with appliances and air conditioning. We accept housing assistance vouchers for government approved units. As your landlord, we are interested in directing you to favorable living environments prior to preparation for future ownership. We can place interested seekers with residential rentals listed throughout the state of Illinois and Indiana.

RICE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT...... "Where OUR housing is YOUR home!"

SEEKING PROPERTY MANAGEMENT?
Our objective is to lease rental property to potential tenants looking for short or long-term leases. We endeavor to fill each vacancy with qualifying tenants to the satisfaction of the owners. Full-Service Management includes: acquiring tenants, collections, lease renewals, annual inspections, eviction preparations, lease enforcement, owner bookkeeping, and handling of all tenant concerns. In addition, we offer EXCLUSIVE OWNER RATES for apartment painting, carpet cleaning, debris hauling, and appliance cleaning through"Rice & Rice Painting & Carpet Cleaning" www.RiceNRice.com

BUYERS & SELLERS:
Desiring to become YOUR Realtor, Rice Property Management & Realty, L.L.C. offers you our FREE services on this website. As your Exclusive Real Estate Partner, we look forward to helping buyers find the best home in areas of interest within the approved price ranges of Chicago area homes for sale.

Sellers, with your help, together, we will sell your home for as much as the market will bear and as quickly as possible. Remember, we already have lists of pre-qualifed tenants in varying stages of pre-approval!

INVESTORS:
We can assist you with investment property..... we take the "fear" away by guiding you all the way.... starting with the selection, and aid you through the journey to after the purchase! If you are desiring to venture in.....call us! If you are the "seasoned investor" call us first!

Alexander Harb PSEM®, E-Agent®
Rice Property Management and Realty L.L.C.

Just click on any of these links
to find the type of help you need.

Buying, selling or just searching,
Rice Property Management and Realty
has what you are looking for!

Chicago Area Real Estate Happenings ~~~ Why do prospective tenents NOT show up to appointments??

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 11:23:57 -0600

Yesterday I was e-mailed by my broker, Diane Rice about a
prospective tenant that wanted to see two VERY NICE apts.
for rent in the southern Chicago area.

I went to both of the apts. and got everything ready:

Turned on the lights
Opened blinds to let in a LOT of light
Made sure the doors were only locked with one lock so
we could get into them easily.

One of the apts. was on the second floor, so I had to go up
the stairs, and back down again twice, when the person(s)
did not show up.

I had another appointment to write THIS post (HOPING the topic
would have been much different).......and my time is important to me.

The place I write my Saturday posts is the public library, which is
a short walk from where I live. The library opens at 10:00 AM,and
the prospective tenant(s) were supposed to show up at 10:00AM.

I am using the Rice Properties company laptop and it picks up on any
WiFi signal the laptop can hook up to.

What is so cool about this libraries WiFi is that it is SO BLAZING
FAST !!! I did a speed test on it and the download speed is
4 MB/sec !!!! The upload speed is 2 MB/sec.....

OH MY GOODNESS, that is FAST !!!

As a comparison, my download speed in Orlando, Fl. at my home office
was at a maximum, 750 KB/sec.

I only have a certain amount of time I can use the Libraries WiFi on
Saturdays, so my time is precious.

I KNOW the tenent did not know that..

=-P

Oh well....... life goes on...........

Thanks to: www.flickr.com
and Remiss63 for the
GREAT picture!

Alexander Harb PSEM®, E-Agent®
Rice Property Management and Realty L.L.C.

Just click on any of these links
to find the type of help you need.

Buying, selling or just searching,
Rice Property Management and Realty
has what you are looking for!

EVERYONE WANTS TO BE NOTICED...... d o y o u ?

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:29:56 -0600

Are YOU having trouble finding YOUR voice in
the blogging world?

Here is a typical situation:

You take as much as 45 minutes to an hour typing
away, finding pictures to illustrate your point(s)…..
structuring the post to be coherent and readable.

Then suddenly, you are finished..

Woohoo !!

You post the creation you worked SO HARD ON
to the network and wait…….

In the ensuing days and weeks, you have almost
no-one come to see your hard work and creativity.

(You can see how many people “click” [Actually READ]
your posts on your statistics page, located on the bottom
left of your "HOME" page when you are logged in.)

What hurts even more, is when you are SURE you made a
GREAT post, just to garner no comments or worse than
that, no-one comes to even READ (click on) your creation.

Let’s be honest, everyone wants to be noticed. Besides,
if you were only posting in ActiveRain to get Localism
inclusion, you would not care, right? Market reports,
listings and local happenings are where Localisms
purpose shines ~~~~ that is what it’s all about and what
it was created for.

Let me state it again… very simply:

EVERYONE WANTS TO BE
NOTICED

Here are WAYS to make that happen. You will NOT:

Sniffle and choke back tears when your blog finds it’s
way into the Sahara dessert (or is that desert?) of
NO-WHERE-VILLE.
Loose heart and post less and less because no-one knows
you are around in the network..... *sniffle*
End up leaving ActiveRain and not come back, determined
to NEVER have something so embarrassing and hurtful
happen to you like this ever again...... *the long (OR SHORT) goodbye*
Be turned off blogging as a way to promote your real estate business. *walking into the sunset*

This is what WILL HAPPEN if you follow these simple rules:

You will LOVE to come into the network to log in
(visit “I Love ActiveRain Because”)
You will become an encouragement to others
(visit "ActiveRain Newbies")
You will find groups to join that “just happen” to be
YOUR MARKET NICHE…….(Visit the "GROUPS PAGE") and you will make friends that share your passion for what you do.
Your blogs WILL GET NOTICED and YOUR BLOGS STATS will improve.
You will GET BUSINESS as a result of your efforts.

These are some things you can do to make this all happen:

1. Go BACK to the above list and TAKE MY HINT(S)
  Hehehehehe……….. *Cool, huh?*
2. Read and really observe how popular bloggers write….
  (People who get featured regularly)
  Follow the principles they use in their blogs to draw
  people into “the conversation of the blog” they have.
  A GOOD example is better than ALL the opinions you
  will ever see. *I can FEEL the excitement growing in
  you, Grasshopper*
3. Think about HOW YOU TALK when you are with
  friends and family. WRITE LIKE THAT !!!!!
  (BE YOU….. don’t try to be someone else)
  * A CARBON COPY is just that..... BORING!*
4. DO NOT just write about business….. Let people see
  your emotions, your passion and your heart. YOUR
  emotions are what DRAW others to you, NOT listings
  or market reports, how ever well they are written.
5. Let people see YOUR PERSPECTIVE on things in life.
  Again… people are drawn to you when you SHOW
  YOUR HEART. *Ripping open shirt ~~ pointing*
6. COMMENT in posts that you are intrigued, inspired, and
  moved in your being (soul, spirit, personality and intellect) about.
7. Get to KNOW people you are drawn to in the network:
  Commenting on their posts, e-mailing them and eventually
  talking to them via facebook IM (and other programs)
  or on the phone. *This takes TIME and EFFORT*
8. Let your friendships in ActiveRain encourage you, inspire
  you and empower your blogging.
9. WASH,RINSE --- REPEAT OFTEN… and ENJOY!!

Here are some of my featured and highly

rated posts to help you along the way:

Are you out of the fireplace?

Teamwork and the offices we work in....

Comments, CLICKS, Featured Posts and MORE POINTS!!

Having a problem because you don't have "Stars"?? Read This Post......

Some other ways to drum up MORE business!

Have you met a suffocating agent --- what did you do about it?

Thanks to www.flickr.com and these
FINE people for the GREAT pictures:

baddyart

armadillo444

Mark Berry - Photographer & Graphic Designer

Edward Dullard Photography

FrogMiller

FreeSpirit5

saltycotton

Alexander Harb PSEM®, E-Agent®
Rice Property Management and Realty L.L.C.

Just click on any of these links
to find the type of help you need.

Buying, selling or just searching,
Rice Property Management and Realty
has what you are looking for!

Chicago Area Real Estate Happenings ~~~ GREAT restaurants in Chicago .... OMGoodness!!

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:36:09 -0600

It is high time I got some good advice from area newspapers
and other sources in the Chicago area.

I have been here for about 3 weeks and I am happy to report
great restaurants are not just in Florida..... hehehehehe!!

Take these restuarants I have picked.... WOW !!

If you like to eat and love to explore the very best Chicago has
to offer, try some of these "fantastic Chicago culinary vacations:"

Alinea

1723 N Halsted, Chicago, IL 60614 (Map)
312-867-0110

Alinea Website

Featuring a 12 course meal that will tempt, tease and delight your
tastebuds and your pallette. Prepare yourself for an exceptional
encounter when you reserve dinner at this Chicago hotspot – praised
as one of the best restaurants in the nation. The very knowledgeable
servers guide you through your meal, composed of 12 or 24 tastes of
culinary delight. Many "courses," each consisting of a single, delightful
bite, are presented with serviceware tailored to each particular dish;
servers instruct you all the way to dessert, which is out of this world.

Dinners are $135.00 for a 12 course meal and $195.00 for the twenty
four course meal.

Alcohol Served: Beer, Liquor, Wine

Ambiance: Elegant, Quiet Conversation, Romantic, Sleek

Cuisine: American, New American

Dining Style: Fine Dining

Dress: Business, Jacket Preferred

Features: Non-Smoking, Parties / Private Rooms, Sommelier

Meals: Business Dinner, Dinner

Menu Type: Fixed Price, Tasting Menu

Parking: Nearby, Valet

Reservations: Absolutely Required

Seeing as I like steak, here is a fantastic place to have beef... on

a royal scale:

Morton's, The Steakhouse

1050 N State St, Chicago, IL 60610 (Map)
312-266-4820 · FAX: 312-266-4852

Morton's Steakhouse Website

Walk down the stairs to below street level and you will find the
ambience of an exclusive gathering. Morton's continually impresses
diners with mouthwatering cuts of sirloins, t-bones, and filet miignon.
Having white linens on the tables, crystal chandeliers, and kingly
service, this is the perfect place for any important occasion. Lots of
the city's best and most discerning agree that Morton's is top notch.

Alcohol Served: Beer, Liquor, Wine

Ambiance: Clubby, Elegant, Quiet Conversation

Cuisine: American, Continental

Dining Style: Fine Dining

Dress: Business, Business Casual

Features: Bar / Lounge, Bar Dining, Disabled Accessible, Parties / Private Rooms

Meals: Business Dinner, Dinner

Parking: Garage / Street, Valet

Reservations: Recommended / Suggested

Type: Steakhouse

Avg. Price: $45.00

If YOU have a favorite restuarant in the Chcago area, PLEASE let me know,
so I can go there and report on how AWESOME it is to live in the Windy City.....

Thanks to: www.flickr.com ,

travelCLICK , Image Zen and
Steve Wan^_______________,^
for the AWESOME photos!!

Alexander Harb PSEM®, E-Agent®
Rice Property Management and Realty L.L.C.

Just click on any of these links
to find the type of help you need.

Buying, selling or just searching,
Rice Property Management and Realty
has what you are looking for!

Chicago Area Real Estate Happenings ~~~ Are you looking for low priced investment property.... are ya?

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:08:26 -0600

Just to make things interesting...... I have ANOTHER 20
Southern Chicago homes for sale. These homes range in price
from:

A low asking price of $12,900.00....... WOW !!!
A high asking price of $16,900.00......... Oh my Goodness!!

These homes are a steal...and with some rehab work, any of
these properties could be a landlords dream or an investors windfall!!

I will continue to post more and more Southern Chicago, Illinois
homes for sale in the coming days, weeks and months.

Rice Property Management and Realty L.L.C. is here for you as a
Chicago real estate consulting company you can trust.

· Home Staging Experts - Utilize our certified stagers to market your home!

· Buyer Agents - Receive one-on-one care while seeking your dream home!

· Mortgage Professionals - Use Our Resource Referral Network to get help with pre-approvals, refinancing, FHA & VA Loans, current credits, programs, plans, & Incentives.

· Seller/Buyer Prep – Available tools: warranties, inspections, disclosures, marketing, website promotions, open houses, etc.

· Seller Benefits – Select from our on-hand approved purchasing investor base

· Expert Attorney Referral - pre-foreclosure & short sale professionals to assist you in keeping your home

· Licensed REALTOR® Assistance – professional help to rent your property

· Property Marketing - choose from huge established tenant marketing base

· Investor Services – Help with leasing, listing and selling your commercial & residential property

· Referral Services – In-house established resources

· No-upfront costs ever – SAVE your advertising dollars – FREE Virtual Tours – Worldwide Placement

· Property Prep Service – R&R Painting & Carpeting Cleaning

· Online FREE property monitoring service

· Investor watch – receive current preferred investor selections

Management Services: Full-service Commercial & Residential Management in the South Suburban Chicagoland Illinois & Northwest Indiana Communities. Management includes:

· Applicant Screening & Service For All Tenant Concerns

· Online tenant record reviews – NEW (by Fall of 2009)

· Owner access to monitoring property traffic interest

· Move-in & Move-out Service

· Property Prep Service – R&R Painting & Carpeting Cleaning – (in-house rates)

· Rental Collections & Record Keeping – Direct Owner Deposits

· Maintenance Upkeep & Vendor Payments

· Notice & Eviction Service – RPM is a registered Notary (in Illinois only)

· Annual & Periodic Property Inspections – (as required by Illinois real estate law

· Leases & Renewals – Short & long term leases

· Advertising/Marketing – Free Address Domains – Access Marketing Brochures - Website Positioning & Synchronizing

· Required Class Attendance (for municipalities with Crime-Free Housing Certification requirements)

· Buyer/Seller Representation – Exclusive listing

· Monthly & Year-end Statements

· Investor watch – receive current preferred marketing selections

· Vendor Referrals

Thanks to: www.flickr.com,

PinoyChicago , SCSSAPICS ,
and splenderandwonder for
the GREAT pictures!

Alexander Harb PSEM®, E-Agent®
Rice Property Management and Realty L.L.C.

Just click on any of these links
to find the type of help you need.

Buying, selling or just searching,
Rice Property Management and Realty
has what you are looking for!

My ActiveRain post about what this network has done for me and what I have done for others because of it.

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:51:15 -0500

Back when I started out in ActiveRain, I said to myself,"This is
gonna help me grow my real estate business......."

Little did I know what changes this network were going to make
in my LIFE, as well as the lives of others in the real estate profession,
as well as those interested in real estate.

It started with getting to know the movers and shakers of the
network at that time:

Now, we used to have a feature that would show the most popular
bloggers by number of subscriptions, but I cannot find it at this time, or
I would be able to put more names in the above list.

There are MANY more movers and shakers than I have in my list, so if YOU
were not mentioned, please don't get upset.

I got to know a great many of these people and they helped me in my
blogging style.......

Krystal helped me put pictures on my blog.

Lenn and Margaret showed me how important it is to be consistent in localism posting.

Margaret and Lenn showed me how important it was to be stern in defending my principles.

Jennifer Allan showed me it is a good thing to be more outgoing, even if I was only outgoing with people I knew.

Jason showed me it is ok to me humorus and open up my life to others, including my personal situations as they happened.

Cheryl showed me that even if you hide behind a clip art picture in your profile picture, that is ok also......

Brad taught me to not worry about what other people thought and to ENJOY my blogging, as long as I was living the of the Golden Rule

There were so many in ActiveRain that contributed to my development as a blogger.... but I can not list them all here.

I started by just posting things I knew about real estate. Knowledge to me, was where it was at. I had several domains that I linked to ActiveRain and I learned html coding and website SEO as I grew in my knowledge of blogging.

I started the "Christianity and Real Estate" group January 25th, 2007 and since then it has grown to almost 1,400 members.

What is nice are the wonderful friendships that have developed over time as a result of that group.

I got to know great people who live out the Golden Rule every day of their lives:

* Elizabeth Nieves
* Don Draughn
* Andrew Trevino
* Jason Crouch
* Sara Washburn
* Brian Foxworth
* Loreena Yeo
* Lola Audu
* Debe Maxwell
* Bob Sloop
*Hugh Krone
*Nick Golgolucci
*Judi Barrett
*Loreena Yeo
*Diane Rice

And SOOoooo many others in the C&RE group.

Many, many, MANY posts in that group still to this day stand out as posts
that changed my life and the lives of others. Here is a smattering of recent
great posts in the group:

Raining Friendship
Barb Van Stensel, Realtor - Chicago, Illinois

Some Bold, Some Quiet But All Equally Valued
Loreena Yeo - Broker|Realtor(R) of www.Frisco-TX-Homes.com (214) 783-2210

Are you LED or LEAD?
Diane Rice

Your Ego is definitely Not Your Amigo! Views on Client Testimonials
Loreena Yeo - Broker|Realtor(R) of www.Frisco-TX-Homes.com (214) 783-2210

Motivational Monday - Kites Rise Highest Against The Wind, Not With It. Be a Kite!
Judi and Don Barrett Integrity Real Estate Services in SE Oklahoma

The group blogroll would not go past 10 pages... which would have resulted in a far BETTER look into the group at large, but I have all my C&RE posts tagged with "Christianity" in my blog.

So many people have come in to read the inspirational posts and to read about real estate from a Christian perspective.

In the group, we have had and still have featured posts that are simply requests for prayer. MANY great things have happened as a result of these prayers. As I said, I cannot go past the 10th page of posts to see praise reports from the prayers that have happened in the past at C&RE, BUT I can attest that MANY people have been touched as a result of prayers said on their behalf.

Bob Sloops wife came out of cancer surgery in fine fashion.

I got to Chicago, moving from Orlando, Florida with out a hitch and started to work with Diane Rice in her brokerage.

These two items are just the TIP of the iceburg of GREAT things that have happened as a result of ActiveRain hosting the "Christianity and Real Estate" group.

** Now all this is to say I have had MANY people (clients and prospects) who have visited Christianity and Real Estate, OR taken a look at my blogs on Christian principles and have been inspired to work with me or with others in the C&RE group.

I also have tagged Orlando area listings and Orlando area news in my blog that many people have commented on to me.

Here is just ONE of my blogs on Christian principles that has lots of links to my other posts on the same subject.

Christianity and Real Estate.... The Kingdom of Heaven #7

I have told many people about the "Christianity and Real Estate" group in The ActiveRain Real Estate Network........
a LOT of my posts that are not specifically real estate related have drawn people (potential leads and clients) to this group, just because of the principles contained in the group and in my posts related to Christian principles.

If I had not been able to form the, "Christianity and Real Estate" group.... which almost happened back almost 3 years ago...... my real estate business and reputation would not be what it is today. I am actually in Chicago now because of Diane Rice, who is one of the members of the C&RE group.

It is because of the great owners and employees of ActiveRain AND the great membership of this network I have worked with that has helped me to leverage my blog and the group I founded to reach many, many people.

And that's a fact, Jack......

hehehehe

Alexander Harb PSEM®, E-Agent®
Rice Property Management and Realty L.L.C.

Just click on any of these links
to find the type of help you need.

Buying, selling or just searching,
Rice Property Management and Realty
has what you are looking for!

Chicago Area Real Estate Happenings ~~~ Staying #1 in Illinois..... can I do it??

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:13:09 -0500

Larry Bettag is coming on STRONG..... and his many posts about
almost everything in his life do not help me at all.

Wow... this guy posts about just about everything important
in his life.... and people comment on his blogs..... wow!!

I try to filter my blog posts and maybe that is where I am
going wrong. Larry just lets it all hang out, so to speak....

People love it............ SOOoooo I will be doing the same thing.

I REALLY LIKE being #1 in a STATE..... it is neat...... #2 is nice
(I was #2 in Orange County and #2 in the city of Orlando when
I lived in Florida) but #1 is SOOooo much better.

I guess that is why Larry has been coming on so strong.....

I WAS over 10,000 points above him when I moved over to
Illinois from the Sunshine State.

NOW......... I am barely 3,000 points in front of him......

Will this LAST............... stay tuned................

Larry is working HARD to get back his #1 spot.......

WOW.... I am almost sweating as I type this post..... hehehehe!!

WOOHOO !!!!!

Thanks to: www.flickr.com
and portlvr for the GREAT
picture of the eagle!!

Alexander Harb PSEM®, E-Agent®
Rice Property Management and Realty L.L.C.

Just click on any of these links
to find the type of help you need.

Buying, selling or just searching,
Rice Property Management and Realty
has what you are looking for!

Chicago Area Real Estate Happenings ~~~ Are looking for low priced investment property?

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:26:23 -0500

In conjunction with Diane Rices post about homes for sale
in Chicago for under $30,000.00, here is a post with a little
more meat to it.

In FACT I have 20 of these properties you CAN VIEW from the
Chicago area MLS....

How's THAT for some help in looking for Chicago investment
property at a ROCK BOTTOM price??

Diane said in her post that there are over 400 hundred properties
that can be purchased in the Chicago area for $30,000.00 or less....
and she is RIGHT.....

I have 20 of them HERE.... see Chicago area homes for sale for
under $30,000.00 just click on that link, my friend...

With some rehab and marketing, Rice Property Management and Realty
can help you get a steady stream of rental income for the future.

For help with your transaction from beginning to end, it is recommended to choose a company that can walk you through every aspect from selecting a profitable rental property, successfully bargaining the purchase of it, overseeing the managing of it, and assisting with it's re-sale if your interest level changes in the future!

Owning real estate is the best way to become or stay financially secure. 98% of millionaires have owned or currently own real estate.

How's that for a fun fact??

Alexander Harb PSEM®, E-Agent®
Rice Property Management and Realty L.L.C.

Just click on any of these links
to find the type of help you need.

Buying, selling or just searching,
Rice Property Management and Realty
has what you are looking for!

Chicago Area Real Estate Happenings ~~~ Are looking for a "Rent to Own" property?

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:40:26 -0500

Chicago has so much to do it boggles the mind! There are also
Chicago homes for sale in all price ranges. The whole thing is..... are you
READY to purchase?

Is your credit score high enough?
Have you been on your job a while?
Do you have money saved?
Do you know where you want to live and
what type of home you want to buy?

There are a bunch of other questions that need to be answered, but
the aforementioned ones are tops on the list for prospective home buyers.

If you are NOT ready to purchase a home in the Chicago area, then
maybe "renting to own" is the choice for you. Renting to own has
several positive things in its favor:

You don't have to wait to live in the type of home you may
want to purchase.
You can rent the type of home you want while fixing up your
credit at the same time.
You can save money for unexpected things that pop up in life AND
for things you may need after you close on your dream home.
You will be adding time to your job while you are taking care of
the items you need to take care of to purchase a home in the future
and this makes your credit worthiness better.
You MIGHT NOT even have to move because you would be buying the
home you are renting.

Come and take a look at Rice Property Managements RPM PLAN......

It is a comprehensive plan to help you while you rent and prepare to
purchase Chicago real estate.

If you are an owner of Chicago area real estate and want quality tenant
and rental management, come and see our RPM PLAN

We offer: